Friday, 4 March 2016

A blog about climbing and other stuff.

Well, it's been a few months since I did my last blog. I wasn't sure what to write, and I'm still not sure now, so this will be a blog about climbing and other things.

After doing the Eiger last year things started to get back to normal. I did the national paraclimbing competition series, and I became British male VI champion.

Then after Christmas me and Mark decided on a new project but then about a month later we decided that we were doing it for the wrong reasons.

I have still been doing my training for competitions with the focus on getting to the World Championships, which are in Paris this September. Getting to them will depend on funding. If you feel you are able to support me please see fundrazr link at www.johnchurcher.co.uk

But, before that there will be lots of other things going on.

Me and Mark, along with our friends Colin and Ian, have decided on a new project. This will be called 'Project Shibboleth'. Shibboleth is one of Scotland's most iconic routes on a wall called 'slime wall' in Glencoe. No exact date has been set for this yet, but it will be later in the summer this year.

I will also be organising another Paraclimbing competition in the West Midlands for later this year.

This next bit has nothing to do with climbing. Well, as a blind person you have certain perceptions about things, and recently a couple of things were pointed out to me that I could not believe. The first of which my daughter gladly told me is that white chocolate is not actually white in colour, not that I eat chocolate as an athlete! So for over 40 years I thought white chocolate was white, wow you could've floored me. The second was when the audio description on the TV told me that the yellow ambulance came past. When I could see, when I was younger, ambulances were white and I thought that they were still white, so when I look at an ambulance now my brain is telling me that it is yellow but all I can see is white.

I still have my guide dog Annie who turned nine in February, she is working just as good as the day I had her. She still helps me get to the local bouldering wall unless she decided it's too wet(or is that me).

As I write this blog the @eigerparaclimb Team has been nominated for some awards in the National Adventure Awards, which take place in March in Scotland. I will post an update as soon as I hear anything.

As I write this blog the weather outside is slowly getting warmer but it's still just a bit too cold for trad climbing.